Final project proposal
My final project idea is a form of BCI where we couple the activity of a single neuron to reward. When the neuron fires, the mouse recieves a water reward. The goal is to test whether mice can learn to change or control the activity of a single neuron.
Figure 1 Single Neuron BCI Task (A) The activity of a single neuron in the primary forelimb motor cortex (MOp) is coupled to the lick spout via a transfer function f. The single neuron’s output activity will be reported in red, and the inputs from other neurons will be reported in green. (B) The presynaptic inputs to the BCI neuron will be imaged as the brain learns and transitions between different BCI transfer functions. The single neuron BCI is crucial to linking synaptic mechanisms to information encoding in neural circuits.
CAD
I joined the class in week 2, but worked on several CAD projects after the laser cutting week. I had used CAD softwares before but not frequently, so practice navigating Fusion early on was very helpful! Here, a postdoc in my lab requested a box with ports for BNC cable routing and other. I designed the box below in Fusion 360.
